Pre collision it was an over-the-shoulder view from slightly behind her & it was still there when she was (rightfully so) in panic mode deploying her reserve. It had to be mounted somewhere, but I’m just not exactly sure where.
Wow, what a video! I spent two weeks very near Zell am See when I was 15. About 10 km to the northeast is the “Steinernesmeer” — Sea of Rocks. Glad she didn’t have to land on that, to add insult to almost-injury!
Yesterday, I saw a C-46, on elevated, permanent display outside of the Curtiss Museum. I didn’t go in only because I’ve been there before.
Get your ass over here and fix this engine.
Facebook link. Couldn’t get the picture to copy over.
Aviation Week just published a high quality synopsis and analysis of the failure chain in the UPS MD-11 accident. Mostly reporting on the most recent NTSB info releases following public hearings last week.
By failure chain I (and NTSB) mostly mean failures in the bureaucratic process that led to a crack-prone design remaining in service for decades while minor failures were noted in the field, but somehow never aggregated into the understanding that this was a catastrophe waiting to happen. No smoking gun really, just a lot of “missed it by that much”.
The article is free to all until June 26th, so about one month from now
I learned to fly helicopters in an R22. Later, Robinson came out with the R44 and R66. Coming soon, the R88.
Came across this the other day …this almost happened to me on my first solo sailplane flight
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FkOiAdNQKI[/youtube]
I have the record for the shortest solo flight for SOSA club …about 150 meters.
First day on my own so a bit nervous
had 40 flights by then and suddenly instead of a smooth roll I get jerked forward violently, and then again.
Training kicked in and I pulled the release.
The sailplane had got maybe a few feet off the ground then when released I rolled it to the verge.
I thought I had done something but was surrounded by others patting me on the back.
The tow pilot was on his first tow and forgot to tighten the rope before gunning it.
He could have died.
Similar happened at the same club and one of Canada’s top aerobatic pilots who was towing was pulled over so the tow plane pancaked on it’s back and burned.
They got him out but with severe injuries tho he survived.
Lots of law suits ensued and after I quit flying they were ongoing.
It got kind of tense around the clubhouse and pilots took sides,.
Tow pilot claimed deficient training for the student being towed…very messy.
Ouch and well done!
I’ve done the merest smidgen of sailplane flying. But a slack rope to start a tow is a disaster about to unfold.
About the only way it could go better than it did for you is for the sailplane to notice the tow plane is accelerating, not just taxiing slowly, while there’s still slack & pull the release before all the slack is used up. Once it goes taut you’re both going to go for a more exciting ride than desired.
Thanks
I guess I just got startled as after 40 uneventful tows and my first time solo ..the sudden yank was totally unexpected.
Normally there is a tightening - and a smooth roll…a hard jerk forward was out of the norm.
I did not talk to the tow pilot but very happy it worked out.
At my second go at first solo I almost fell out in the lion park …bloody Schweizer 2–33 had zero penetration. I could see the thermal and got a bit below return point and then up I went for a nice one hour flight.
Moved to a 1-20 and had a ball …it was so light I could outclimb anything - I’d get a tow to 4,000 at 9.30 am when I had no time restriction if I could stay up and Cu’s would bust at 10…I’d chase seagulls in the narrow thermals ( they are terrible at finding thermals ) and sometimes a redtail hawk who are always reliable for rising air. Had one just off my wing tip giving me the eyeball…magical.
Did my 5 hour endurance in the 1-20…so tiny but had a ball. It only weighed 350 lb. If you went for your endurance all the time limits were off so it was a cheap way to get hours with no additional rental cost. 
Then moved on to Blanik and could take passengers…terrific fully aerobatic with flaps, retractable landing gear.
Then the 17m Lark ,…scary as hell as it would wing stall and torque you into a spin before you blinked but damn what a flier with negative flaps and and 900 lb of mass plus pilot…terrific penetration. Good memories…
It thermalled about as well as a Cessna. IOW a glider not a sailplane.
Robinson R66 crashes leaving wedding; pilot & groom deceased
Damn. Airline pilot who knows better about shit weather boards a chartered helo w his new wife, helo pilot launches into weather totally unsat for a helo and crashes. She’s hurt, the 2 men are dead.
When I first saw this part of A Bridge Too Far I wondered how it must feel in the glider when the slack runs out.
They’re in the air!
They’re in the air for a little hop across the pond. - Big deal you say, that happens dozens of times every day. Yeah, but that’s in pressurized wide-bodies using Jet A for fuel in their jet engines.
Nope, the guys I’m talking about are in an open basket & using Hydrogen for fuel lifting gas & the winds for propulsion.
Bert and his friends and fellow aeronauts Peter Cuneo and Alicia Hempleman-Adams will attempt to become the first balloonists to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open basket gas balloon using hydrogen for lift. Their flight from Presque Isle, ME to Europe is expected to take six days, during which
the pilots will live in the open air in an aluminum frame basket smaller than most closets. There is no respite until they reach Europe – once over water their only place to land is in the open ocean.
They launched from Presque Isle, ME a little after midnight, after waiting for the winds to die down. You can follow along with live tracking
Atlantic Explorer Website
I’ve been to Presque Isle, Maine. It’s a good place to leave.
The good news - the front did not fall off
The bad news - the front did fall down go boom
Following a gear collapse at the gate in Frankfurt, Lufthansa 787-9 D-ABPQ has been significantly damaged. Today’s LH450 has been canceled. We are awaiting more information on any potential injuries.
Ouch!
Decent article with pix here:
None of that will buff out.
This is probably the first significant structural damage to a 787 that wasn’t an immediate obvious total writeoff. Figuring out whether the fuselage structure or skin is damaged in a not-yet-visible way will be an “interesting” task for both Boeing & Lufthansa.
Ugh. More great news for Boeing.
I always thought Harriers were cool. They did great work for the Brits in the Falklands:
Me, too. I thought they were cool when I was eight years old (late 70s) and saw the Harrier in my parents’ unabridged dictionary (on a page all about airplanes).
At the bottom of that article about the Lufthansa 787-9 is a related story – almost exactly 5 years ago, the exact same thing happened at Heathrow to a British Airways 787-8. Not a good look for Boeing!
In both cases, it’s a good thing the nose gear collapsed while the plane was sitting at the gate and not on takeoff or landing!